Using the details and ideas in the short story as a guide, argue for improvements to your own local community. Your goal is to develop your argument using quotes from the short story in support and convince your audience to make the improvement you desire within your local community.
In this Unit, we are continuing our literary exploration and adding an in-depth research component. This time, instead of analyzing a short story based on how we relate to it (“Writing as Reflection”) or a poem based on the author’s desire to share information and experience (“Writing to Inform”), we’ll put a work of literature into a larger context of the literary community, “Writing for Community.”
Read and Review
Review Chapters 5 and 9
Chapter 2 offers a list of Critical Perspectives you may want to consider as you prewrite and develop your thesis.
Prewriting Requirements
Choose a short story in our textbook or from those listed in our Textbook Resources folder. You may not write about the same story used for Unit One, and you may not choose a poem.
Generate ideas based on the questions asked below and based on the research you will conduct for your Annotated Bibliography (due later in this unit). Your thesis idea should be your unique perspective or critique of the literature within a larger literary scope. Note that you’re prewriting to generate information by answering “what” questions. When you draft, you’ll answer “why” and “how” questions to develop your argument.
What is the society like within this story? How do these details work as the author’s commentary on society?
What are the political, social, economic, or religious ideas described within this story? Why does this author choose to write about these ideas within this story?
What are the gender or family issues portrayed within this story? Why is it significant that the author publishes this story at this time?
What are the characters’ perspectives of their reality or their mental states as the story progresses? Why is this significant for the story or for the author’s time period?
In what way(s) is this story typical of its genre? What are the typical settings, characters, or plots used from this genre? How and why does the author conform to or deviate from the chosen archetypes or genre?
What symbols are used within this story? Why is symbolism used within this story, and why are these particular symbols effective for the time period?
Drafting Requirements
TOPIC PROMPT: Using the information generated through your examination of the short story and through your research-based assignments this unit, first think about the social critiques the author made within the short story. Why or How does the author use the details within this story to…comment on [society or religion or politics or economics or gender or family or health/psychology or literary genre] at the time of publication? Using the details and ideas in the short story as a guide, argue for improvements to your own local community. Your goal is to develop your argument using quotes from the short story in support and convince your audience to make the improvement you desire within your local community.
Focus/Purpose: to analyze a story for its argument and then develop your own argument to a primary audience of classmates and instructor in 725-825 words.
Format/Essay Conventions: You are developing a persuasive or argument essay.
Content and Support/Elaboration: Your essay must be 6+ paragraphs. Each paragraph must include concrete details from the story. Each body paragraph must also use the knowledge you’ve gained through your research-based tasks as support for your own persuasive ideas.
Paragraph Organization: Create complete paragraphs (topic, supporting details, transitions) organized as needed to support your literary-based argument.
